A Forbidden Love
by InsanityChaosDragon
Summary: One ending up Rika almost gets killed, then is kidnapped by a mysterious and odd digimon to the dark ocean. Is this digimon truly evil though? and will Ryo and a new help get there in time to save Rika, the World, and a possibly innocent digimon?
1. A Birthday Party and A Disaster

A Forbidden Love  
  
A/n - This is my first ever Rika x Ryo fic, and my first Digimon fic for that matter too. Check it out, and tell me what you think. Well, Read and review, whether you like it or not. I'll even accept flames! Weeeeelllll... ON WITH THE FIC! *static* *screen turns on, displaying fanfic and Kylara playing with some controls* what?! fine! fine! i get the idea... i know! a dramatic entrance... ON WITH IT!* *drops out of the screen* *your computer screen swallows you so you can view this in full view*  
  
  
  
"You are not allowed to go and that's final, Rika!"  
  
"I don't care, I'M GOING!"  
  
"No, YOU ARE NOT!"  
  
The argument between Mrs. Makino and Rika raged on.  
  
"Why can't I go to Henry's birthday party?!" Rika yelled.  
  
"Because you either just sit in your room all day, or are at the park! You don't do anything around this house, so you don't deserve rewards! You have to earn those kinds of things!" Her mom screamed.  
  
"Yes I do! I take care of the chores around here! I do errands for you! And I even put on stupid, idiotic dresses!" She shot back. Her mom acted like she didn't do anything around there!  
  
"First off, your grandmother is usually doing to chores! Two, when was the last time i asked you for an errand? And three! I ask you to do it! I don't force those dresses on you! Besides, they look beautiful on you, and all you do is treat them as if they were a fungus of some sort! Just go to your party, but don't plan on coming back!"  
  
"FINE! I WON'T!" Rika screamed before slamming the door behind her.  
  
Renamon was waiting outside for her. She could sense Rika's tension, other than the fact that she just heard the whole argument. They were both silent, apart from Rika's growling, the whole way to Henry's house. They got onto her doorstep, and Rika did what she was best at. Hiding her emotions. She rang the doorbell. Renamon also put on her normally emotionless look. Henry and Terriermon met them at the door.  
  
"Come on in guys. The party's outback." Henry said as Rika and Renamon walked in.  
  
"And Henry means in the backyard, not the Australian outback." Terriermon commented.  
  
"Not right now Terriermon." Renamon quietly whispered as they walked past.  
  
*****  
  
Everything during the party went great. Rika even forgot about her argument with her mom. It was too common an event to remember. The argument anyways. The party continued until after nightfall. Everyone had a great time, especially Rika. Finally people started leaving. Kenta and Kazu were the first to depart. Around ten o'clock Rika began saying her goodbyes. Renamon and the rest of the digimon were sleeping over at Henry's house, so that meant she had to walk home alone. Takato was leaving at about the same time also. Henry saw them both to the door.  
  
"Bye Henry!" Takato said, smiling as he started walking down the block.  
  
"Bye Takato!" Henry said as he smiled and waved.  
  
He saw that Rika was just standing there, looking in the direction of her house. She looked troubled in a way. Even though it was an emotionless stare, Henry knew her long enough to know that something was wrong. He watched as Rika's hand twitched slightly.  
  
"Do you need a ride home Rika? I can ask my mom, I'm sure she wouldn't mind..."  
  
"I'm fine Wong. I'm a big girl, I can make it home." Rika said sharply.  
  
With that she began to walk down the street. Ryo started out about ten minutes after she did. He wanted to make sure she got home safe. His house was only a little farther than Rika's. He was quick with his feet that night. She took her time though. Her mother had probably already forgiven her, like always, but she still took her time. She'd rather face 20 mega level digimon than go home now. As she was walking past an alleyway, she heard a deep, sluggish voice.  
  
"Hey little girrrrl. Whacha doin' out this late?"  
  
"None of your business freak."  
  
Out of the shadows appeared five guys, each of them being about twice her size, the leader easily being the biggest, strongest, and dumbest in Rika's opinion. They began to circle her, like a pack of wolves or sharks would their next victim. The leader stopped right in front of her. He smirked and brought up his hand to her chin.  
  
"Tell me gorgeous, what are you doin' out this time of ni..."  
  
He never got to finish his sentence, because a fist connected with the side of his jaw, making him fall backwards. One of the other thugs sprang at her, and she kicked them in the stomach before dashing into the alleyway. It was a dead end though. Him and his four thugs caught up to her easily. She backed into the brick wall that formed the end of the line. The leader stepped in front of them all, wiping the trickle of blood that ran from his lips to his chin away. Before she could react, his minions pinned her body against the wall. He walked up to her and snarled.  
  
"Nobody punches me and gets away with it. Especially no little firecracker. Got it?"  
  
"You are gonna regret those w..."  
  
She couldn't get the rest out as he slammed a fist into her stomach. She would have lurched forward in pain, but she pinned to the wall. Just then Ryo walked past. She tried to scream out, but a hand clamped over her mouth and she was dragged into the shadows by the front of her shirt, getting the broken heart on the front torn off in the process. Ryo stopped, thinking he heard something, and he thought he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye. He squinted his eyes, but he didn't see anything. He continued walking. After a good minute or two, they uncovered her mouth. She was completely scared. She couldn't break their grip on her. Being fought against, and not being able to fight back was one of the things she loathed and feared. They continued taking turns beating her up, so as they didn't get tired. She screamed into the night as she continuously took blows to every part of her body. By how they continued hitting her, it was obvious they enjoyed her screaming. When the fun of it finally left, they abandoned her in the shadows, unconscious.  
  
Ryo, who was walking stopped dead in his tracks. He had definitely heard a scream somewhere behind him, maybe about a couple of blocks back. He shook his head and continued walking. It had to have been his imagination, because he thought it sounded like Rika. But that was impossible; she had to be somewhere up ahead of him. She was probably at home right now, going through her digimon cards, making up new strategies for upcoming battles. He was overreacting. As he passed her house, he noticed that there were voices coming from inside. On closer inspection, he noticed that the window was open slightly. After fighting over whether he should go and eavesdrop or not, he ran over and sat under the window. The voices inside were definitely those of her mom and grandmother, but there was panic and anger hinted in them.  
  
"Mom, I'm getting worried. I just called the Wong residence, and they said she left almost an hour ago! It only takes her about a half an hour to get home!"  
  
"It's alright honey. The girl is probably fine, and I bet she'll be home soon."  
  
Ryo sat there, horrified. Where could Rika be? She left ten minutes before he did, meaning she must be home by now. He got up quickly and hurried back in the direction of Henry's house. Taking the road that she always takes home was slightly difficult. There were so many streetlights, and stop signs, and roads to cross. He wasn't the patient type, making him irritated that he had to go this way. He dashed across were the alleyway met the street and skid to a stop. He cautiously looked into the alley. Something there had caught his eye earlier, and it had caught his eye once again. There, on the ground, was a piece of cloth. He picked it up carefully, as though it were a diamond, and studied it while it rested in his palm. He knew it well. How many times had he seen it being worn proudly on her shirt? It was Rika's. A rat ran past, making him switch his gaze to a small river of red liquid. He followed the stream of blood's path with his eyes, and saw a lifeless heap in the shadows.  
  
"RIKA!"  
  
A/n - *you are spit out by the computer so you can see me... no, not the buttons on the side or top, ME! good, now that i got your attention... i will talk, and you will listen!* a cliffhanger on the first chapter... pity, isn't it? well, you are just going to have to wait to see what happens next! and don't forget to comment please. anyways... what am i gonna do with the next chapter.... 


	2. Flashback in Time and Heart

A/n - Haha! The next chapter! Now. I'm typing this up at the moment so. yeah... Nyahahaha... oh yeah, and one more thing. Anything that's in flashback mode is through Ryo's mind. And thing in between dashes is what he's thinking. *Pulls out a remote kind of thingy* *pushes one of the buttons* *whole screen goes static* *Teletubbies comes on* OOPS! Wrong button... Hold on, I can fix it. *pushes another button* *static* *screen eats you again so you can see in full screen view...*  
  
"RIKA!"  
  
  
  
Ryo ran over to her. She was hurt pretty badly. Almost every inch of her skin was covered in bruises and cuts. He was almost afraid to check for a pulse. His courage came back as quickly as it had disappeared, because he noticed that her chest was slowly rising and falling. He stared at her chest for a few seconds and then switched his gaze to her face, remembering that he was supposed to be helping her. He didn't like her, she just was his friend. He lightly pressed his fingers to her neck, too afraid to hurt her if he pressed too hard. There was a very weak pulse.  
  
He gulped. Where could he take her? He lightly pulled her up into a sitting position. He pulled his arms around her into a tight yet gentle embrace. He had to keep her warm, it was autumn after all. He couldn't bring her to her own house. Her mom would panic, her grandmother would go nuts trying to keep her mom under control, and he might take the blame for it. That left his and Henry's house. Lets see, go to Henry's house, wake up the household, get Renamon all worried and overprotective and thinking she's a bad partner, or go to his house, where his dad was currently out of town on business, so the house was completely empty.  
  
He picked her up and walked out of the alleyway. He needed to get her help, so he headed towards Henry's house. He stopped abruptly in his tracks. Up ahead where five guys, each looking like mean drunks. But something wasn't right. They all had red stains on them. Then it struck him. It was them! They were the ones that did this to her. To Rika. The one he lov. no, his friend. A wave of anger filled him. Rika coughed and he looked down at her. He tenderly wiped away the blood that began to run out of her mouth. He looked back up at the thugs. They began walking his way. A surge of fear overtook him. If they saw that Rika was still alive, they might try to... no. He wouldn't let them. But he couldn't defend her. Not right now, he was too tired, he couldn't bare to put her down, and the fact that they each looked like they could rip him apart like paper.  
  
He quickly turned heel and began running in the direction of his house. After running the full nine blocks, being extra careful that Rika was comfortable the whole way, he burst through the front door. He didn't stop running until he was safely in his room. He collapsed to his knees. He put her down on his mattress, which was lying on the floor. He forced himself to get up, no matter how much he would have preferred to lie down and sleep forever. He stumbled down the hallway and into the bathroom, despite how much his legs hurt from running. He grabbed a washcloth and ran some warm water over it. After squeezing out the excess water, he trudged back into the room. He plopped down next to her and began to dab softly at her cuts. He got up and went into the kitchen.  
  
Ryo stopped in front of the cabinet and stared at it. On it was a birthday card that Rika had gotten him last year. What a memorable event.  
  
~Flashback~  
  
-I hate my father. He can be such a jerk some times. Why can't I have a birthday party this year? If he hadn't spent so much money on that stupid trip to Hong Kong, then I would have been able to.- Climbing into my favorite tree, I thought. I perched myself on a branch. -Nothing ever goes my way.-  
  
I looked off into the distance. I saw someone coming towards me. If it was my dad, I was going to say I don't have the time or money to talk to him at the moment. But it wasn't him. It was too small and slender to be that idiot. Who was it then? It had to be a girl... but who would possibly want to come to see me? They're walking from the east, so I can't really see them. They're silhouetted against the sun. She turned, and I could see her. Rika? Why was she coming to my house? I watched as she walked up to my front door and rang the bell. My dad answered the door and after a few minutes of talking he snarled, pointed somewhere off in my direction, and slammed the door. She started walking towards my tree. I crouched low to the branch. I smiled. She passed right by without seeing me. I watched as she looked around for a while, calling out my name occasionally. I slowly got up and moved to another branch, so I could see her better. It was about twelve feet off of the ground. What luck! She sat right under me. I smiled again.  
  
"Stupid Ryo. I come to give him something, and he disappears on me. He better not have gone to the digital world without telling me. No, Motodramon would have gone with him, and he's at Takato's house. Damnit, RYO WHERE ARE YOU!"  
  
"Right here"  
  
She looked up at me with pure surprise. I smiled down gently at her.  
  
"You heard me call you! Why didn't you tell me you were up there?"  
  
"Out of all the insults you screamed, and how many times you yelled my name, I never heard you ask if I was up here. So, you don't ask, I don't answer. Simple as that."  
  
She smirked at me. She stood up and began to climb the tree. I scooted farther down the branch. She got up finally and began coming down after me. She got closer and closer. She finally got within a few feet of me, doing really well for walking on a beam-like branch, and I tried to scoot back on my butt just a little bit farther. The branch cracked slightly underneath me, and I lost my grip. She pounced for me at the exact same time I began to fall. I reached up as I did and she grabbed my hand. I just hung there, completely helpless. I looked up. She was breathing hard. But her look of shock quickly became very smug. She let go. I fell down six or seven feet onto my butt. Oh the pain... but she nimbly landed next to me.  
  
"Why did you let me go?!" I yelped, with a slight hint of pain in my voice that I couldn't quite hide.  
  
"You never told me not too." She replied. We were always playing these games.  
  
"Yeah, well it hurt..."  
  
"And? So what. Don't tell me all those years in the digital world as the Digimon Champion, you never fell once on your butt."  
  
I Mumbled. She was right. All those time I fell backwards from an explosion that Cyberdramon created, and not one time did I complain then. I'm not even sure it did hurt. Maybe it was just because I was in the digital world... but at the moment I didn't get anytime to think about it, because she tackled me. After being pinned for the fifty-gazillonth time, I gave up. She got up and laughed. She held out her hand to me. After a moment's hesitation I took it. She smiled and helped me up. She looked pretty today... AHHH! How did that get into my mind? I felt like bonking my head against the tree screaming 'IMPURE THOUGHTS! IMPURE THOUGHTS!' but she held something out to me, catching my attention. I looked at her face as she gave it to me. She was looking away from me, a slight tinge of red in her face. I looked down. A birthday card? I took it and looked at it. I opened it and something fell out. I bent down to pick it up as I read the card aloud.  
  
Hope your birthday turns out good, on this very day. I'll be your friend until your old, a friend that I hope will stay In your mind and in your heart, I hope I'll always be Cause I'll always be a true friend, starting now as you turn fourteen.  
  
I looked up. She was blushing even more than before. I looked at what dropped out. A digimon card. I saw the digimon emblem on the back. I turned it over. It was a card I didn't have. The card with the crest of friendship on it. I had been looking for this card for about a year now.  
  
"Thanks Rika. I don't know how to thank you."  
  
"Y...Yeah. You can just pay back the favor some day. I have to go. I told my mom that I would be home soon."  
  
"Bye then..."  
  
"Yeah, bye."  
  
~end of flashback~  
  
He quickly snapped out of his daze. He opened the cabinet and grabbed the bandages. He wobbled unsteadily back into his room. He continued cleaning her up and when he was done, he bandaged anything that looked really bad. He looked at her shirt. It was literally in tatters. He tore off the bottom shreds that were still attached and winced; she had a deep gash torn into her side. He wrapped the bandages around her. It wasn't that easily, because his eyes were blurred from being tired. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the clock. Wow, it was already one o'clock in the morning. Where had the time gone? He quickly finished, and went into the bathroom the wash all the blood off. He filled up the tub and fell in, without even taking his clothes off. He turned the water off and sank up to his head in the red water. He leaned his temple against the side of the tub and fell asleep.  
  
A/n - *computer spits you out* *Kylara is currently trying to sue the company that made her remote control thingy, when she realizes that she's the one that made it, and wondering how the hell Teletubbies got programmed on it* *deletes it from memory* Haha. I rule all! Now, how did you like the second chapter? Like? Dislike? Want to flame me about how I forgot to put disclaimers on both chapters? Go ahead, just as long as you read it and review it. Now... what's going to happen next? 


	3. Dreams and Realization

A/n- *if playing with the controller* *Power Rangers turns on (the new ones. the old Power Rangers rock! you know, the originals...* o.O what the hell?! AAHHHHH!!! HELP US ALL! *Turns off the t.v. and de-programs it from her remote-controller-thingy-ma-bobber* few... *turns the t.v. back on, and finally notices audience* oh! Hi, um, yeah... I got the next chapter up! ^_^ anyways, review it, and tell me what you like, dislike, decide to flame, ect. ect. and I refuse to put up disc-LAMERS because you'd have to be pretty stupid to think that I'm Bandai, or someone else that owns digimon. anything in dream mode is through his eyes. Flashback - same thing. You know the drill. So, yeah, here we go! *Pushes button with a last smile as computer bares it's shiny, pointy teeth, and bites you, chews you up and swallows you up whole so you can view it full screen*  
  
  
  
Ryo slept anything but peacefully. As soon as he fell asleep, he was pulled into a horrible dream. It completely horrified him. He cou.... wouldn't wake up...  
  
~Dream~  
  
"Rika. Where are you. Are you there?"  
  
He stumbled around aimlessly.  
  
"Where could she be? Why can't I see anything? Why is it so misty? Wh... huh?"  
  
There's somebody over there. I can see them! But who is it? One, two, th... there's five. Takato? Henry? Kazu! Kenta, Suzie, Jeri, is that you? Answer me! Please! Guys? Rika! Are you there? It's me, Ryo! I..."  
  
Five guys stepped out of the mist. It was those thugs! The ones that hurt her! I could feel my face screw up in anger. The mist began clearing, and we weren't in the real world. But we weren't in the digital either. We were... We were at the Dark Ocean! But how could we be? The mist completely dissolved, and I saw someone behind them. It was Rika! She was lying on the ground. She was so badly hurt... but... something was wrong. Something wasn't right. Then it hit me like a ton of bricks; the absence of the rising of her chest. She wasn't breathing. She wasn't moving. She was really pale. She couldn't be... dead, could she? No... these monsters...they, they were just playing me for a fool. My cheeks were suddenly soaked. I brought my hand up to one. I looked at my wet fingers and realized that I was crying. I tried to run past them, so I could get to Rika. One of them stuck out there fist, and I ran right into it. I lurched forward, not only because of my momentum, but also because of the fist that slammed into my stomach. It hurt like hell. They tossed me around, as though I were nothing. After a while, they stopped. They were gone. As though they had never been there, except for the fact that everything on my body felt as though it were pummeled with hammers. I looked over at Rika. She wasn't there! Nobody was there! Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something... Rika? Rika! She was floating over the ocean. She was almost completely transparent though. She was looking around... She was all right!  
  
"Where am I? Ryo? Ryo! Help me! Please, I don't want to be taken away!"  
  
"I'M COMING! RIIIKKKKAAAA!!!"  
  
I dove head first into the ocean. But the farther out I went to get her, the farther away she got. So I did what seemed right. I swam harder and faster. She kept drifting away. No... I couldn't lose her again... not again. Anything but that. I got tired really fast. After a few seconds it felt as though my body were pulling it self down. I tasted watered down blood in my mouth... I was going under. I could still see her floating figure in front of me. It brought out the courage and strength in me, whatever amount was still left, and I swam up to the top, fighting the pull of the Dark Ocean. She kept floating away. Kept leaving, going away from me. I couldn't see her anymore. I was completely alone, in the middle of what was now utter, impenetrable darkness. I sank under again, this time not resisting the pull. Anything to get away. To not be alone. To be...was that a scream? It came from me, my last breath. I tried to inhale, on impulse, but all I got was a mouth full of watery blood. I couldn't breath. I couldn't see. I couldn't feel my body. I couldn't live... without her.  
  
~End of dream~  
  
Ryo sat bolt upright in the tub, sputtering out the ice-cold red bath water. He had fallen asleep, and while sleeping, his head had slipped under water. He had nearly frozen. He had accidentally left the window open, and it was the early hours of the morning. The clambered out of the tub, shivering and still occasionally coughing. He went into his room. Rika was still sleeping, and he was secretly relieved to see that her chest was slowly rising and falling in a rhythmic pattern. He went into his closet and changed into dry clothing. He came back into the room, and she was fine. He smiled, knowing she was still alive. He might as well go to bed. He didn't have anywhere else to go, so he laid on the floor next to her. As long as he was there, she was safe. And as long as she was safe, he was happy.  
  
A/n - *computer spits you out cuz you don't taste good* like? Dislike? Flame? Go ahead. Be my guest. *Shatters the remote against the wall, because it showed her barney lately* 


	4. A New Enemy in Play

A/n - *is mourning the loss of her remote control* why... I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to... I didn't... *is bawling her eyes out* *knock on door* *sobsobcomeinsob* *Nefleign comes in and thwaps Kylara upside the head* YOU IDIOT, YOU STILL HAVE A WHOLE STORAGE ROOM OF THEM LEFT! *Gives her a another thwap for the hell of it and leaves* *is sitting there, not only being an idiot, but feeling like one now too* *goes to a huge vault on the other side of the room* *trys to blast it open with a spirit gun* *fails* *thinks (YES! she is actually thinking for once! ----by Nefleign) *does a Kamehameha Wave* *fails* *does a Lunar Beam* *fails* *remembers the combo, and puts it in* *door opens to reveal hundreds upon thousands upon millions of remote controls* *dives* DIVE DIVE DIVE! (A la monkey bone) *comes back out holding a perfectly good remote controller* *cradles remote controller* *looks at people and stops cradling* anything in someone's dream is through their own eyes. Just a fair warning. *Zaps everyone in audience* see ya'!  
  
  
  
Ryo woke up the next morning. It was freezing! He could have sworn that he closed the window... he got up shivering, and closed it. There was a thick layer of frost outside. Well, it was almost winter after all. He looked back over at Rika. He ran over to her, being worried. He could practically see her breath. He wrapped the blankets around her as tight as they would go, with cutting off her air or the circulation of her blood. After he closed the window, he went into the kitchen. As he opened the freezer to pull out some frozen waffles, he had a sudden flashback of the nightmare from this morning. Dark Ocean, thugs, Rika, cold, and darkness. He was blown backwards by the memory, on his butt, three feet back from the fridge. He shook hid head and got up. He pulled himself up, and finally got out the frozen waffles. He absentmindedly put them in the toaster after closing the fridge. His thoughts were elsewhere, and not concentrating on reality at the moment. He was thinking about his dream. What did it mean? Was it a view of what was to come? What's that smell? He was pulled back into reality after he smelled the putrid smell of burning waffles. He went over and disposed of them. He wasn't that hungry anyways. He sleepily trudged back into the bedroom. Rika, still sleeping soundly and snuggly under the blankets, looked like she wasn't having a hard time breathing anymore. That was definitely a good thing. He went over and sat down next to her. He had to take out her ponytail, so he could get the cuts on her head. He brushed away a few strands of orange hair from her face. She was very pretty. He couldn't deny that. But the one thing that he had stuck on his mind, the one thing that he couldn't avoid thinking about. She was just his friend, just like all the other tamers, but he felt different around her. He felt more obliged to show off, to try and make himself look good, to try and impress her. Could it be possible that he... liked her? No, he couldn't. Of all those times that they showed off, and play fought, and teased each other, he couldn't have possibly been doing it because he liked her, could it? He put the thought off at the moment. He didn't get much sleep last night, and decided to take his chance to get it now. He laid down next to her and closed his eyes. He fell asleep almost instantly. In his sleep, he wrapped an arm around her.  
  
~Rika's dream~  
  
Rika looks around as a cold, dark and ominous mist surrounded her. She was lying down. Everything she saw was covered in a thick layer of fog. She was suddenly standing up. But how? She didn't even care to question at the moment. The fog cleared slowly, and was replaced with a mist that seemed to hint danger, and a faint smell of blood lingered in it. She looked down at her body. Her clothes were tatters, she was covered in head to foot with dirt and there were bloodstains all over her. What had happened...she was about to ask herself this, when a noise from behind made her spin around. The mist swirled slightly as she squinted, searching for the intruder. A faint laugh echoed. It filled her entire being with fear. She took a step back.  
  
"W...who's there?! Show yourself! I'm warning you, I'll..."  
  
"You'll what? Fight me? Insult me? Call for your pathetic digimon partner?" a body-less voice called.  
  
She gasped slightly. Her eyes widened. How could they know? Who was this? Where was Renamon?  
  
"Who are you? What do you want?" she cried as she unwarily took a step back.  
  
"Do you really want to know who I am, and what I want? Or are you afraid to know?"  
  
She finally found some strength in her body and punched into the thin air. It was quickly followed by two more punches and a kick. She ran forward, hoping to run into whomever it was speaking, but found nothing. Once again, she heard the harsh, cold voice, but this time, from behind.  
  
"Honestly, I thought you of all people could do better than that, Digimon Queen."  
  
She shivered, not knowing what to do, where to go, or who this was. Why was everything so cold? Yes, it was autumn, but it shouldn't be this cold. If it weren't for the mist, she might be able to see the heat radiating from her body! And the fact that her clothes were almost completely in shreds didn't help the matter.  
  
"You want to know my name? Fine, I'll tell you. But, I warn you. It is probably the last thing you'll ever hear. Umbramon."  
  
"Good, now that I know your name, I'll know what to put on your tombstone"  
  
She glared into the mist as a figure stepped out into view. At first it seemed like only a shadow, but it wasn't. What slightly resembled a human form in the middle of completely pitch-black flames. The only thing able to penetrate that utter darkness was gleaming crimson eyes, which seemed to be longing to lash out and kill. Rika took another step back as Umbramon began to circle around her.  
  
"Isn't it your mouth that almost got you killed on an earlier occasion, Rika? I would have expected you to have learned after you made the mistake once."  
  
"What are you talking about? What do you want!"  
  
"What am I speaking of? Well, I'll just let you relive the moment. I'm not in the mood to tell bedtime stories..."  
  
She gasped as everything around her dissolved out of vision. She was replaced in the same scenario as earlier. The alleyway.  
  
"Hey little girrrrl. Whacha doin' out this late?"  
  
Determined to keep her pride in being a female, she once again opened her mouth too reply.  
  
"None of your business freak."  
  
Out of the shadows appeared five guys, each of them being about twice her size, the leader easily being the biggest, strongest, and dumbest in Rika's opinion once again. They began to circle her, like a pack of wolves or sharks would their next victim. The leader stopped right in front of her. He smirked and brought up his hand to her chin. She was about to punch him again, but Umbramon appeared behind him smirking so evilly that her insides nearly froze in fear. Umbramon looked up from Rika, switching his gaze to down the street. Ryo was walking towards them, even though he was about two blocks down, he was still walking pretty fast. He looked back down at the thug.  
  
"Tell me gorgeous, what are you doin' out this time of n..."  
  
She finally summoned up courage, and probably more out of pride and instinct she slugged him as hard as she could across his face. A rustle from behind and a shadow creeping over her back confirmed that another thug had tried to jump her. She landed a hard kick directly in his stomach, before she turned a quick gaze unto Umbramon again. The black flames around him were growing, creating her to fear rise, making her abandon the fight into the alleyway. She looked ahead. A dead end? Oh no... not again... she spun around to find the thugs practically on top of her. She would have been able to escape, but Umbramon was directly behind them. Even if she got past the thugs, she would have to face him. All but the leader pinned her. Big, dumb, and ugly came up and snarled in her face.  
  
"Nobody punches me and gets away with it. Especially no little firecracker. Got it?"  
  
Before she could stop herself, she spoke up.  
  
"You are going to regret those w..."  
  
His fist slammed into her stomach, making her spit up blood from the damaged internal organs, the pain from before being reincarnated to life once again. Umbramon just stood and laughed, everybody but Rika completely oblivious to the fact that he was there. Ryo suddenly walked past. The thug grabbed her by the front of the shirt, ripping off the broken heart symbol in the progress. Umbramon had to make sure that they weren't seen.  
  
"Umbrage light!"  
  
The small corner in which Rika was dragged to was completely shrouded in darkness. Not even the street lamp, which was only a mere ten yards away, could penetrate it. Ryo stopped, and stared into the alleyway. A fist slammed into Rika's stomach again. She tried to cry out, seeing that Ryo was standing right there, but a hand was over her mouth already. The muffled sound of her cries never made it out of the globe of darkness. No sound did. Tears flowed freely down her face as more blows came to her body. But only a quarter of those tears were for the pain. Another quarter was for fear. Another, for the fact that she could have stopped this, and it was her fault. But thing that was eating her away the most, after Umbramon had left and his sound preventing shadow had disappeared, was the fact that the boy that she had a crush on had not been able to help her. To save her. Wait... had a crush on? Where did that come from?! She didn't like him. Did she? Was it that impossible to believe? Yes. Yes it was, and she wouldn't let herself believe it. The gangsters had abandoned her. That mist already surrounded her again. Every single inch of her body was in such pain, that she couldn't even breathe without a sharp pain enveloping her chest. Umbramon came out of his hiding spot and walked until he was directly in front of her face. She was lying on her side.  
  
"Now do you see what I mean by your mouth keeps getting you into trouble?"  
  
She somehow found strength to speak.  
  
"I hate you, you..."  
  
"Do you mean to tell me that you haven't learned your lesson yet? Maybe I should let you go through it another time..."  
  
"No! Please... not again..."  
  
She tried to scream out, but nothing came out, and she spent the next minute gasping harshly. He just stood there, smirking.  
  
"Did I just hear you plead? You beg?"  
  
She just lay there, unable to answer. Tears were pouring down her face. She couldn't be put through that again. If the pain on her body wouldn't kill her, then the pain in her mind and heart would. She couldn't go through that again...  
  
"Did I? ANSWER ME!"  
  
He placed a foot upon her head. Pressing down slightly he spoke again.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Yes, now please..."  
  
"Heh... I thought so."  
  
He removed his foot from her head, being very careful. He kneeled down next to her. She winced visibly and tried to inch away in fear. He laid her on her back, and she let out a painful squeak. He looked her up and down quickly.  
  
"Lets see, a broken arm, a badly injured knee, 3 broken ribs, a hemorrhage, seven deep gashes and plenty of bruises and cuts. Something tells me that if you went through that one more time, you wouldn't have survived."  
  
He got up and nudged her with his foot. She screwed up her face. It hurt so badly. Where was Renamon and Ryo? She needed them.  
  
"RENAMON! RYOOO! HHEELLLLPPP MMM...!!!"  
  
She was suddenly silenced by a foot pressing down on her chest, and a hand clamping over her mouth. She couldn't do anything, not even breathe. The hand covering her main means of breathing froze her insides cold. It was ice cold, and dryer than a bone.  
  
~Out of dream~  
  
Ryo was jerked awake. He had heard Rika scream, in pain for that matter too. He sat up scared to no end. He turned his head around, expecting to find Rika lying there, completely safe and snug under the covers he just had his arm wrapped around. He was completely horrified when he turned around to face an empty bed, blood stains everywhere. And from the state of the covers, she hadn't gotten up. What did she do, disappear?  
  
~in the dream~  
  
"Well, I have completed it. You are now physically here, and not in the real world anymore."  
  
"Great. Now can I go home? I think your mommy is calling you. Oh wait, I forgot. You don't have one, and if you did, I really pity her for giving birth to something as pathetic and ugly as you!"  
  
Rika somehow coughed out the words. A little more blood trickled down her cheek. Umbramon, angered at her remark, kicked her in the stomach. She flew back a couple of feet, and involuntarily curled into a fetal position.  
  
'Renamon, Ryo, where are you? I need you... Ryo... I lo... I think I...'  
  
She fell unconscious as a wave of darkness completely veiled them.  
  
"Umbrage Light!"  
  
A/n - *computer spits you out and you look at me* so? Huh huh huh? How'd ya like? I hope you liked it, because I just spent the last three hours typing it. I have horrible writers' block, and I still write a five page chapter. Damn I'm good! Ok, so maybe not THAT good... well, anyways, read, review, and wait for me to think of the next chapter. ^_^ 


	5. A Reason For Hatred, and A New Legend

A/n - *sweat drop* Please don't kill me for giving you that humongous cliffhanger... I had no choice. I have to make you want to see the next chapter don't I? Well, yeah, anyways, here's the next chapter. *Pulls out her remote* I hope you really like it. ^_^ *Aims it at the audience* Well, see you! *Click, zap, static, you're engulfed by computer, static, you know the drill*  
  
Renamon woke out of a dead sleep. She sat, shaking and sweating, on top of the sleeping bag Henry had lent her. She had definitely heard Rika call for her. She got up as silently as possible, but accidentally brushed against Lopmon, waking her up. Renamon didn't notice. Lopmon, looked up at Renamon, and not seeing that she was alarmed fell back to sleep. Unknowingly, both her ears flopped and whacked Impmon, Motodramon, and Terriermon. Terriermon simply turned over and kept on snoring. Impmon didn't even feel it, as he was in the middle of a pleasurable dream where he got all the ice cream he wanted. Motodramon opened his eyes and stared oddly at the giant chocolate colored ear covering his face. He brushed it aside, not being that tired anymore. He looked at Renamon, who was stealthily moving across the room, towards the balcony door.  
  
"Renamon?"  
  
Surprised, Renamon spun around. She stared, blankly, at Motodramon. Motodramon got up and hopped over to her.  
  
"Where are you going Renamon?"  
  
"I have heard Rika calling me. She needs my help. She is in trouble."  
  
"I'm going with you then."  
  
"No, Motodramon, you have to stay here. What if Ryo needs you?"  
  
"What if Ryo is with Rika?"  
  
"Why would he be?"  
  
"Because whenever Rika is in trouble, it's usually Ryo that is at her side second to you. ^^"  
  
Lost for words, Renamon silently agreed with him. She opened the sliding glass door, and stared off into the city. She looked back at Motodramon. He hopped into her arms and she took off, leaving no trace behind that she was there. Henry groggily opened his eyes, wondering why the door was open. He got up, closed it, and went back to bed, not even realizing that his path was two spots clearer.  
  
~By Rika and Umbramon~  
  
Rika opened her eyes slightly. She was in a tremendous amount of pain. The mist wasn't as thick anymore, so she could see pretty far in front of her. Her eyes widened in horror, and not because of the fact that she was three feet from the edge of a cliff, or that the sky was dark and shrouded in a discomforting shade of black and purple. It was what was beyond the cliff and under the sky that struck the most fear into her. The Dark Ocean's waves crashed against a shore, a shore covered in an overlaying veil of black fog. She tried desperately to move her body back, away from the disturbing sight. All she got in result was a sharp pain in her back. A voice from behind nearly gave her a heart attack.  
  
"Looks like I didn't see the injuries on your back. Let's see now... two more deep gashes, one that's still bleeding, and a large shard of glass embedded in your back. I think I'll leave it there as a reminder to what your arrogance has cost you."  
  
A few tears rolled down her cheeks, but by the time they reached the ground, they were a shade of crimson. She silently slid back into unconsciousness, wishing that Renamon and Ryo were here. She wouldn't know how to react if Ryo got hurt trying to save her; scared, angry, smug, defeated, or the final thought before she fell back into a dreamless sleep. Heartbroken.  
  
~In The real world~  
  
Renamon was already at Rika's house. Some police were there. She hid Motodramon in a few bushes and crept closer. They were talking about Rika! Her mother was crying her eyes out, unable to speak, and her grandmother was giving a detailed description to the officer. After a while, the police left, and they went back inside. Renamon went and retrieved Motodramon.  
  
"Renamon?"  
  
"Yes Motodramon?"  
  
"Where is Rika?"  
  
"She's..."  
  
Renamon suddenly realized a crucial factor. She couldn't sense Rika anywhere around the city. Renamon began to panic. Where was the tamer she valued so?  
  
"What is it Renamon?"  
  
"I can't sense her Motodramon! I can't sense her..."  
  
She fought to hold back the tears as Motodramon stared at her in shock and concern.  
  
"Renamon, I promise that me and Ryo will help you! We'll help you as much as possible! We will!"  
  
~Ryo's place~  
  
Ryo was already dressed in his clothes for the digital world. He just began tucking the digivice into his belt when he remembered the pain-filled scream echo in his mind, and he could only imagine the state that Rika was in. out of instinct, he screamed out.  
  
"Rika!!!"  
  
He fell to his knees. Why... why Rika? She never d... ok, so maybe she did do a few things to deserve this, but she had redeemed herself. Hadn't she not risked her life for Calumon? And she had put her life on the line for Impmon! She even had saved his hide once or twice in battle. He would give anything just to have her back. He rushed out his front door, one hand in his pocket, running his fingers over cloth. He pulled it out, and gazed longingly at it; the heart from her shirt. He delicately ran his fingers over it as he ran. He wanted Renamon to come and help him, but he secretly wished to do this on his own. He began sprinting towards the park. A white light flashed in front of him, throwing him back about two yards. He looked up, stunned because of the light, and gasped. The light had disappeared, revealing a form that couldn't be human.  
  
"Motodramon!!!"  
  
~At Rika's House~  
  
Renamon had been sitting on the house, occasionally going throughout the town on a five-minute dash of disappearing and reappearing. Motodramon agreed to stay on the roof, so that Renamon wouldn't have to carry him around everywhere. Renamon finally came back, after her 27th round of the city. Motodramon looked up at her. Her eyes had a tint of red in them.  
  
"I take it you didn't find her then Renamon."  
  
Renamon just silently stared at him. Once again lost for words, she picked him up.  
  
"Come on, let's go try at Ryo's home."  
  
She was about to take off when Motodramon stiffened. She looked down at him. He had only been this tense once before in his life.  
  
"What's wrong Motodramon?"  
  
"Ryo's calling for me! He needs me! There! Look!"  
  
Motodramon and Renamon both looked west. In the distance, there was a bright flash of white light. In an instant, Renamon and Motodramon were off.  
  
~Dark Ocean~  
  
Umbramon was watching Rika. So pathetic, so weak, and so fragile she was. He couldn't possibly imagine what had kept her alive this long. She was only human after all. He walked over and sat upon a rock. He could have just finished her off, right then and there if he could, if he wanted to. But he wouldn't. No, not yet. It wasn't the proper time for her to die. He wanted to make her suffer first. That was besides the fact that he needed her for his plans. She had something that he wanted. It was deep inside of her, so he couldn't get it yet. He had to be patient, and wait until it was the right moment. As soon as he had it, his enemy could be defeated. If his enemy got to it first...then he would be no more. This girl was the one. He sighed and stared out at the ocean crashing waves. He had lived here ever since he was a rookie digimon. He hated this place. When the sovereigns banished him for a stupid legend, a prophecy that involved him, he began to hate every single being in existence. Not even the southern sovereign's recent hate of humans could match his own. Nothing could parry his hate for them. Nothing...  
  
~Flashback~  
  
Azulongmon, Baihumon, Zhuquiaomon, and Ebonwumon were all gathered together in a council. The leader of this group had still not shown up yet, so the four were discussing, trying to figure out why they had been called on such short notice. The doors burst open and a little rookie digimon came in. All in the council held their tongue as the little digimon came in. He was made of completely pure white scales, and had a pair of the most beautiful eyes you had ever seen. One was a shade of turquoise blue, and the other, a brilliant shade of violet. The sovereigns all stood straight and bowed in respect as the little digimon walked past. He sat up at the head table and called to order.  
  
"Sovereigns, I have called you from the four reaches of this planet in such haste because were have been put in a grave situation. An Elecmon has confronted me with an immeasurable problem. About six years back, two digimon were born from one digiegg. A Blackmon was one of the two that hatched out of a digiegg that was half dark blue with purple swirls, and half light blue with lavender. After three years, it digivolved into a Darkmon. And again, after another three years, just a year ago, a split second before night broke out, it turned into a Shadowmon. Now I'm sure you all know of the legend. This digimon is digivolving at an alarming rate. The usual time it takes for a digimon to reach the in-training level is five to seven years. Elecmon has also informed me that he has shown power far beyond his level. The primary village that he is in charge of was attacked by a champion level digimon, and Darkmon saved the village. One single solitary Dark Ray was emitted from him and the champion was no more. Yes, he did save the village, but is a large threat nonetheless. I have called upon you for you to pass judgment. Keep him here and let him stay until he comes to destroy us, or destroy him before he has the chance to go against us."  
  
"But master, you were born around the same time, and you digivolved at the same rate!"  
  
"Azulongmon, please do not question me."  
  
"Azulongmon is right, as much as I hate to admit it, but you have no room to talk!"  
  
"Zhuquiaomon, do not interrupt me. I shall now present to you the one of which I speak."  
  
He waved his arm out wide and the doors opened. A little digimon, who seemed to be a black version of the white digimon, walked in. He peered around at the sovereigns of North and South, looked to the right half of the room to see the sovereigns of East and West. How big they were! The Dragon-like digimon and the Bird-like digimon seemed big enough to step on him and not even notice. The ones that resembled a tiger and a two-headed turtle looked like they wouldn't mind having him for breakfast. He was very frightened. He looked directly in between the four digimon, and up on a raised chair sat a brilliantly white digimon. Shadowmon became frightened. There was a light that surrounded him, and such a light hurt his eyes. He stood in the center of the room, looking down at his feet, and trembling from head to foot.  
  
"Y...you called for me?"  
  
His timid voice startled the four bearers of power. Zhuquiaomon spoke up, a hint of anger in his voice.  
  
"This is the being that we fear so? How can that be?! He is but a mere child! I sense no threat here!"  
  
"Zhuquiaomon! Hold your tongue!"  
  
"But Raymon!"  
  
"I SAID HOLD YOUR TONGUE!"  
  
The little black digimon visibly shook as the white digimon angrily stood up at his throne. Shadowmon held back tears as all of the big digimon began to argue. The white digimon, Raymon, began to quietly walk over to Shadowmon. He visibly cowered. Raymon's face was bent into such anger, that Shadowmon had the notion to leave. All he could hear around him were the sounds of the others arguing. In the distance he could see Raymon's lips move slightly.  
  
"Moon Silence"  
  
Shadowmon gasped, as even though the others were still arguing and screaming and yelling, he couldn't hear a single thing except for his breathing and Raymon's footsteps. Shadowmon's heart was pounding dangerously loud in his chest as he stepped right in front of him. Raymon's face was contorted in anger and hatred. Shadowmon, believing that the anger was directed at him, looked towards the ground, not to mention the bright aura surrounding Raymon.  
  
"Look up, and look me in the face."  
  
Scared, Shadowmon squinted as he looked into the eyes of Raymon. Raymon calmed, making the aura go down in size. It made it easier for Shadowmon to see. Raymon's face was now calm, Shadowmon noticed, and he smiled at him. Shadowmon was secretly relieved, but still very afraid.  
  
"Shadowmon?"  
  
"Ye...Yes?"  
  
"Did you know that you are apart of a legend?"  
  
"N...no sir."  
  
"What's the matter?"  
  
"N...nothing sir. I'm f...fine sir"  
  
"Are you afraid?"  
  
All the poor defenseless digimon could was nod his head up and down. Raymon felt sympathetic. He couldn't destroy this digimon. He was too...innocent! He felt really, really bad. How he could even be the digimon from the legend was beyond his knowledge. But he knew better. He knew for a fact that he had to be apart of the legend. But he could not destroy a digimon this pure and innocent. He was raking his mind for another solution. Finally Baihumon spoke up, shattering the silence around Raymon and Shadowmon.  
  
"Master, we have decided."  
  
Raymon looked horrified. He began to quickly see Zhuquiaomon's point about how there was no visible threat about Shadowmon.  
  
"Moon Silence!!"  
  
Suddenly Shadowmon could not hear anymore. He watched as there mouths moved, but couldn't hear anything but his own heart beat in his data filled chest.  
  
"We, the council, have decided on Shadowmon's fate. He is sentenced to death."  
  
The words cut through him like a knife. And to think, he was the one that actually proposed that this be decided. His brain was still raking around, trying to find someway that this wouldn't happen. For even though no matter how much he refused, he knew that he would have to be the one to carry out the sentence. Being the one who suggested it, he was obliged to. Suddenly, it came to him. A perfect solution! There was no possible way that this could fail.  
  
"I have a better solution. We shall not kill him. It would be too much of a hassle to deal with anyways. We still have to beware of the chaos, mind you. I have decided that..."  
  
At that exact moment his silencing hold on Shadowmon dissolved. Shadowmon heard the words that would change his life forever.  
  
"I have decided that we shall exile him to the foreign lands of ice."  
  
"NNOOO!"  
  
Everybody turned to stare at Shadowmon. He had tears streaming down his face. What did he do? He didn't do a damned thing to deserve this! He shook his head, desperately hoping that he heard wrong. Raymon took a step towards him, holding out his hand.  
  
"Shadowmon, please, listen to me."  
  
"NO! You did this! You want to get rid of me! You hate me! You all hate me! I didn't do anything! I don't deserve this! I..."  
  
He was completely lost for words. All he could do was move his mouth, and shake his head. There were slight squeaking sounds coming from his throat every so often. He was slowly backing away from them. Suddenly, a wave of anger came over him. He glared at the white digimon, not knowing that he had just saved his life, and screamed so loud that even Ebonwumon had to tuck his two heads in. Shadowmon began to charge full force, pulling one clawed hand back.  
  
"Shadow...!!!"  
  
"Dark Gate Portal!"  
  
"...Claw!!!"  
  
Halfway between Shadowmon's attack, Raymon threw out a portal to the Dark Ocean. Golden rimmed, and looking like a mirror, Shadowmon broke directly through it. He stayed frozen in midair, suspended along with the shards of glass. His body was already on the other side of the mirror- looking gate. Raymon whispered something, only audible by Shadowmon.  
  
"I'm sorry. I'll get you back, I promise."  
  
As soon as he finished his sentence, Shadowmon and the floating glass flew backwards as if in rewind. His body never made it through the other side though. He was thrown into the portal, and every single piece of glass replaced itself. Raymon looked truly sympathetic at the portal and waved it away. He might never know the truth of why he was still alive. In the Dark Ocean, Shadowmon landed and was knocked unconscious. He hadn't even heard the apology from Raymon. All he heard, was the waves crashing against the rocks. Nothing more. Nothing less.  
  
~End of flashback~  
  
A/n - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! *computer spits you out* HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! ANOTHER DEVIOUS PLOT CARRIED OUT BY ME! And, no, I'm not talking about the flashback. What I'm speaking of is how badly you want to see the next chapter. Oh I feel so evil right now, I think I'll...  
  
Nefleign: DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT KYLARA! Kylara: just one? N: No! These are my cookies! K: But can't I steal just one? N: No. That's final Kylara. Little page pops up out of nowhere.  
  
L.P: I WANNA COOKIE! N+K: NO! L.P: ...fine, I'll just go kill Goku then! N: Be my guest. Then you'll make your dad, Vegeta, happy you know. L.P: ...Damnit...then I guess I'll go eat. N: Go do that, pathetic half-breed. K: Then what's Gohan? N: A half-breed that's not pathetic. K: Whatever... 


	6. An enemy with a heart, and a little trip

A/n – sorry this has been such a long wait for you compared to the other chapters, but my writers block is absolutely killing me. I was lying in my bed, in the dark abyss of my room, and a thought suddenly popped into my head for the next chapter, at exactly……… 9:52pm. I feel so proud………I'M STARTING TO GET OVER MY WRITERS BLOCK! *Does a little dance* ok, where was I? Oh yeah, the story. Digimon love is in the air……… all around all around……… I'm not sure if I should have Renamon have a crush on Auroramon or not……… when you review, give me your opinion. Anyways, yeah *picks up remote, and brushes the dust off of it* c'ya! And don't forget to review it! ^_^ *Zap, and I don't feel like typing the rest*

                                                *           *           *           *           *

            Ryo stared up at the unimaginably bright light. His eyes were barely open and he still couldn't see. The light died down, and he opened his eyes all the way. A digimon, that was a white so pure, it was nighttime and it still hurt his eyes to look upon him. The fur that covered his entire body was whiter then a fresh layer of snow in the artic, and he had two angelic wings folded on his back. He was in a form that seemed to be that of a wolf, yet he was standing on his two hind legs. This digimon was about ten feet tall, and had the most beautiful eyes. One was sapphire blue, and the other was a shade of lavender. They were the most beautiful eyes he had ever laid sight upon; that is, second to Rika's. Thinking of Rika made him remember why he was out here in the first place. He got up and, instead of gazing back into the eyes of this creature, just closed his eyes and lowered his eyebrows. Suddenly, the mystical digimon spoke up.

            "Well? Aren't you even going to ask who I am, or at least check me out on your digivice?"

            Ryo opened his eyes, startled, and gasped. How did this digimon know he had a digivice? Maybe……… could this be the one who kidnapped Rika? He mentally grimaced at the thought. 

            "Who are you? And what have you done with Rika!"

            "Come with me, there's not much time to explain. My name is Auroramon, and I haven't done a thing to Rika. As a matter of fact, I'm here to help you save her. Digital Gate Portal!" (Big thanks to Haxar on this one, I just happened to twist and manipulate it into my own devious way)

            The instant he finished his words, Ryo had somehow developed a strong sense of trust around him. Maybe it was just because that he really didn't have any other choice. A portal formed behind Auroramon, about twenty yards away, as he turned around. It looked like a giant mirror, surrounded by a golden frame. The middle, however, swirled with life. It was absolutely beautiful, the way pastel colors, barely visible, as if they were just different energy forces, twirled and danced about on the surface. Auroramon turned, his gaze piercing Ryo, as though they were staring into his very being, his soul. He spoke, breaking the very silence that held in Ryo's breath.

            "To be able to go through portal, we must break through it together. So we are going to have to run and jump at exactly the same time, got it?"

            "Y………yeah………sure, what ever you say."

            "So, it would be a lot easier if I just carried you."

            "Uh………are you sure that's going to be safe?"

            "Trust me, I won't drop you."

            Ryo walked over, and Auroramon picked him up. Even though this was a nice position, being carried instead of walking, he wasn't comfortable with the idea that Rika was in so much trouble that this digimon willingly offered to help him save her. Something just wasn't in place with this whole thing, and he thought that somewhere along the line, there just _had_ to be some kind of catch. He didn't get time to ponder about it, for the digimon began sprinting towards the barrier.  

                                                *           *           *           *           *

            Renamon held up Motodramon, as she dashing towards the park. Why did the Human's world have to have so many obstacles? The light had died down for about two minutes now. Rika wasn't there, but judging from how tense Motodramon was, it was obvious that Ryo was there. They landed on top of Guilmon's little shack, and began peering around. Motodramon instantly hopped down and began to run for the other side of the park. Renamon followed, hoping any humans wouldn't see her. Motodramon, from his speed and the way he was going like a rabid digimon, didn't seem to care about humans at the moment. Almost like when Guilmon smells food on an empty stomach. Renamon's eyes widened at the site ahead of her. There was a large portal, edged with a golden frame and made of energies that only highly powerful digimon with high positions (i.e. the sovereigns) could possess. On the other side of it was a digimon; so white she was nearly blinded. They held someone in there arms. Ryo. 

            Motodramon, seeing his tamer in the arms of an unidentified digimon, went as fast as his four stubby legs could carry him. A familiar glow enveloped him, and he jumped into the air, digivolving into Cyberdramon, just as the offending digimon had leaped into the air, straight towards the portal. 

            Auroramon leaped, shielding Ryo, into the barrier. He shattered the mirror-like gate, and came out on the other side. All of his and Ryo's senses went blank as they floated silently on the other side of the portal, along with the still swirling shards of glass. Cyberdramon grabbed a hold of Ryo's shirt, and Renamon had barely touched Cyberdramon's arm when Auroramon, and Ryo went zipping backwards into the portal, dragging Cyberdramon and Renamon along for the ride. 

                                                *           *           *           *           *

            Umbramon stared down at Rika. This girl……… this girl was the key. She had inside of her the very thing he needed to escape this godforsaken prison. She seemed so………innocent. Despite her attitude, she was just that. Completely Innocent. Just like he had been. Innocent, and given a punishment undeserved. He didn't like the idea of having to kill this girl. It just didn't seem right. 

He walked over to her. The bloodstained skin of her back was clearly exposed. Bending down, he inspected the few wounds she had left on her. The only reason he put her through that before was because a surge of hatred came over him. He couldn't describe it, nor did he want to. He healed the two deep gashes on her back, and dissolved the shard of glass into digital dust. He needed her alive, and since she was basically bleeding to death (thanks to Wezl on this one) he had to heal her. Then, after gently picking her up, he jumped off the cliff. Using the two pure black dragon wings on his back, he flew off, and down the beach. His touch, though he was covered in black fur, must have seemed deadly cold. He had been like this all his life. Cold, and hated. He didn't want to think of that right now. Every time he thought about a negative memory, the dark ocean consumed his heart and soul a little more. 

He landed in a cave and put her on a makeshift bed that he had made for himself. He went out, and slowly walked, looking at his own purple and black fog. He hated the fact that this place reflected any and all negative feelings in him. Walking up to the edge of the water and stepping in, he peered down at his reflection. His black fur covered face, standing out darker than the sky above him, was that of a wolf's. The bat-like wings behind him were neatly folded on his back. The thing that stood out most to him though, were his eyes. One was a sapphire like color, only a few shades darker than the ocean itself. The other, a violet that parried the mystical fog behind him. He had only known one digimon throughout his life that had eyes similar to his own. The one he played with as a fresh digimon. The one that had been taken away as an in-training digimon. The one that exiled him as a rookie. The he used to call his bro……… He went back into the cave, and went into a side room. He stared up at a lantern on the ceiling before drifting off to sleep*

                                    *           *           *           *           *

Auroramon stared curiously at the two digimon that caught a free ride. He smiled, realizing whom these two must be. Cyberdramon sat up, rubbing his head, while Renamon shook hers. He set Ryo down, who aimlessly began to stumble around. Cyberdramon, seeing his tamer's "abductor" stood up immediately and began to growl. He was going to begin a full out assault, but Ryo tripped and stumbled past. Renamon was at Cyberdramon's side already, and all three digimon watched the human go between them, and walk right into a marble pillar, before falling over. It was then that Renamon and Cyberdramon realized that they were in a huge white hall. There were intricate carvings all around the walls, and the ceiling had a beautiful mural of the digital world done on it. Even Cyberdramon stopped to admire the beauty of this place. There thoughts, however, were interrupted by a distracted and somewhat dizzied voice.

"………Can I have fries with that shake mister?"

Auroramon anime fell, Cyberdramon sweat dropped, and Renamon covered her face by putting her hand on her forehead. Renamon looked up, and the first thing she saw was two, white furry, pad covered feet, sticking up in the air and twitching. Then, like all anime characters can, immediately stood up before anyone could track his movements. He rustled the two feathered, angelic wings on his back and folded them curtly. Renamon gazed into the beautiful eyes on the mystical digimon. One was a lavender shade of purple, and the other was the most beautiful icy blue she had ever seen. She immediately averted her gaze to Cyberdramon, who was in the process of bonking Ryo on the head, trying to wake him up. Ryo stood up finally, and stared at Auroramon, as if trying to decipher whom he was. After an "Oh yeah", he pulled out his digivice, not to know his name, seeing as he already knew this, but to maybe get some stats on this guy. It only took a split second for the statistics on this digimon to show up. Out of habit, he read them aloud. 

"Auroramon, Vaccine type. Champion level digimon, attacks: Realm Portals and Moonbeam Gaze."

Ryo nearly dropped his digivice in surprise. This guy's power was off the charts! He began inspecting his digivice, for any sign that his digivice fried during that little trip, or any signs of espionage. Nothing was wrong with it. He stared up at this guy in amazement. He suddenly had the feeling that there was some kind of catch behind all this. Why would this powerful, strong, non-evil digimon come to him, and willingly offer to help him save Rika? He was sure that there was some undeniably evil source, most likely a digimon, behind all this now, like always. But why was this digimon coming to help him with a personal matter? (Yes, to Ryo, it is now a personal matter. Hell, it's Rika, what would you think?) He was severely hoping that this guy was supporting some answers behind that blinding fur.  Because if he and the rest of them didn't get answers that they requested, he would sick Cyberdramon on him. 

Cyberdramon stared at the captor of his tamer. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how deep he dug, he couldn't find it in him to challenge this digimon. He could barely hold a grudge against him! Glaring had even worn off. Not being able to run this digimon through was throwing him off balance. He wanted to challenge this digimon, but somehow couldn't, and this was a claim that very few digimon could truthfully make.

Auroramon took this time to look at the "stowaways". He knew that these must be the foretold children's digimon. Looking down at Ryo, he wondered if this was one of the prophetic children. The other had to be Rika, and he knew that the one he exiled exactly five years ago had already gotten his hands on her. He began walking down the hall.

"Follow me."

Cyberdramon, Renamon, and Ryo all obediently did so, wondering what was in store for them.

                                    *           *           *           *           *

Rika woke up. She was lying on something soft, and her body was quite numb. There was a bright light above her. She spoke out loud, partially in a daze.

"I'm lying on something soft, I can't feel my body anymore, and I'm looking up at a bright light. We're talking dead here!"

She tried to sit up, using her elbow to support her, but all she got in return was a pain in the arm.

"Ok, so maybe I'm not so dead after all, so sue me………"

She looked up, and found that it was only a lantern above her head. She smiled at how stupid the mistake was. Then she remembered where she was. She sat up in her bed, and looked down at herself. There were definitely less wounds then before, but she still hurt pretty badly. She got out of bed, and looked ahead. There, in the room next to the exit, was Umbramon. He was sleeping! This was her chance. She got up making as little noise as she possibly could. Creeping silently out the door, she took one last glance at him. She suddenly realized that _he_ was the one that healed her. She really began to wonder about this digimon, but she still had to get out. 

She limped out, in rather a lot of pain, but it was worth it. If she got to see Renamon and Ryo again, she wouldn't have really cared about if she died or not. She couldn't deny it anymore. The fact of the matter was……… she loved him. Denying it wasn't making things much better anymore. She had always had a huge crush on him. 

Why else would she try and impress him so much? All those battles that she had won, and gloated to him, weren't because she wanted to be better than him. It was because she wanted to catch his eye, to snag his attention, and maybe, just possibly, have him show off to her. It was physically impossible, in her opinion, that Ryo could ever like her. She had always been so cold towards him, and so………just……… mean!

 She was about a quarter of a mile before she realized she had gone that far. Beginning to climb up a cliff, she had a thought. Was it possible she was dead? And she just went to H.F.I.L. (sorry, couldn't resist putting SOMETHING from DragonBallZ in here. I love making fun of how badly FUNimation dubs some of those shows……… Hey, does it matter if I'm obsessed?) to endure eternal torture. The Dark Ocean seemed like the perfect place for this. This was all a realistic projection in her mind. Hell, she probably bled to death in the alleyway. God knows that no one would have found her in her state. No one probably even cared. Her mother wouldn't be expecting her home, if she remembered correctly, because her mom _told_ her to not come back. Nobody cared about her. Nobody………

                                    *           *           *           *           *

Umbramon woke from a dreamless sleep. His first thought was to go back to sleep, but he decided to check up on Rika first. He trudged out of his little side cave, and walked into the other room. Swearing out loud in frustration as he saw the disturbed sheets, and trail of blood, he dashed outside. Looking all around, he took off into the air, and began searching everywhere for her. Great, this was a fine time to lose her! Suddenly, he spotted a figure on a cliff. It was her! But………what was she doing? He nearly fell out of the sky as she jumped off. What in the hell was she doing?!?! He swooped down, panicking, and caught her right before she splattered all over the ground. She thrashed wildly, and kept screaming in his ear.

"LET ME GO! PUT ME DOWN YOU JERK!"

He gently touched down on the ground, and stared shocked at her, his heart beating like mad in his chest. (Hey, I know, I know, Digimon are only made in data, but in my story, they're living, breathing beings, got it?) Rika was shocked at how scared this digimon seemed. What the heck? First he tries to kill her, then heals her half way so there are still injuries, and then saves her life? This just didn't add up to her. He glared at him, through tears of frustration.

"WHY DID YOU SAVE ME? I WANTED TO DIE! I PROBABLY ALREADY AM DEAD, SINCE I WAS JUST LEFT TO BLEED TO DEATH IN THAT ALLEYWAY! GOD, NOBODY CARES ABOUT ME ANYWAYS! I COULD HAVE JUST DIED! WOULDN'T THAT HAVE MADE YOUR JOB A LITTLE EASIER?!" 

"YOU'RE WRONG, GODDAMNIT! PEOPLE DO CARE ABOUT YOU! HELL, IN THE STATE I FOUND YOU IN, IT WAS HARD TO GET YOU HERE WITHOUT NOTICE! YOUR BOYFRIEND FOUND YOU AND BROUGHT YOU HOME, AND BANDAGED YOU UP AND EVERYTHING! HE EVEN SAVED YOUR LIFE FROM THOSE IDIOT THUGS, BLEEDING TO DEATH IN THAT ALLEYWAY, AND FROM FREEZING TO DEATH! AND YOU SAY PEOPLE DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU? AND, FRANKLY, NO! IT WOULDN'T HAVE MADE MY JOB ANY EASIER!! SO YOU ARE GOING TO LIVE, AND STAY ALIVE! I DON'T WANT TO SEE SOMEONE GOING SPLAT ON THE GROUND, JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL DEPRESSED AND oh man……… I need to sit down, head rush………"

Rika just stared blankly at him, trying to register this into her brain.

"What do you mean………my……… boyfriend?"

"You know! That……… boy. The one that likes you."

"Was he wearing goggles?"

"No."

"Phew……… at least it wasn't "Goggle head Takato". Did he have blue hair?"

"No."

"Well then, that narrows it down to Kazu, Kenta, and Ryo. Did he have Black hair?"

"No. He didn't, he had brown hair."

"Well……… I guess it wasn't Kenta. Was he wearing a visor?"

"No."

She just stared, an unnoticeable smile crossing her face. Ryo had saved her life……… Go figure, ne? Of all the people to just walk along and find her, Ryo just HAD to be that person. She almost laughed at the irony, and would have done a cartwheel, had she not been in so much pain. _Ryo Akiyama, I swear, the first chance I get alone with you, I'm going to kiss you so good, you're going to………_ her thoughts were interrupted by Umbramon waving his hand in front of her face.

"Heeeeelllloooo……… Anybody home? Jeeze, you act as if this world just left you behind! Is anybody……… WHOA!"

He almost fell back in shock after Rika shot him a glare and turned heel. She stomped away, almost forgetting whom she was dealing with. Almost, but not quite. She plopped down about ten feet away from him, now not only having to deal with her love life, but also trying to decipher this unusual act. Umbramon saved her life. Hell, he actually acted like he cared for her! Now that she was officially confused, her mind swarmed with both pleasant and unpleasant thoughts and possibilities about the future.

                                    *           *           *           *           *

Meanwhile, the others were getting not only an earful, but also the shock of a lifetime. One that involved Ryo and Rika's fate, along with the fate of all the worlds. 

A/n – HAHAHAHA. Once again another cliffhanger. Boy, don't I feel maliciously evil right now……… Well, you already read it, seeing you're reading this, so go and review it. And if possible, could someone maybe draw a picture of what Umbramon and Auroramon look like? I mean, I can picture it in my head, but I just would not be able to get it unto paper. Thanks! Ja ne!


	7. the startling news

I know the majority of you people are just checking out of habit it's been so long since I updated, but, guess what. I UPDATED!!!!!!! Well, I didn't even bother continuing this story, and as I'm writing this now my Internet is down (most likely won't be when you are reading this though. XP) and everything here in the Arcularis Inferno I call my home. wait. house, my home is at my friend's house, (by the way, Arcularis Inferno means Eye of Hell) and yeah. In other words, I'm just too goddamn lazy to get off my ass to do anything. XP! Anyways, I don't want to hold you people up any longer, so go on ahead and read what ever I have in store for you, because by the time I'm done writing it, I'll probably have forgotten already what I wrote. I know, memory span of a goldfish. Oh yeah! And before I forget that too, thank you for all the flames I received from you people. They were used in a recent marshmallow roast me, my 13 other characters I control, and all their boyfriends/husbands attended. Everything in //'s are someone's thoughts for your info, Okie dokie? Are you sure? Positive? Oh well, ON WITH THE FIC ALREADY!!! Wait a sec. I'm the one writing it. oops. ah well. *picks the unrecognizable remote covered in dust, dusts it off, thinks for a second, enters the code to unlock the buttons, presses the only big red button, and points it to the audience*  
Chapter 7 ~ The startling news  
  
Auroramon led the three guests down the hall of white digital marble. Then they entered a large room, black marble everywhere; a rare sight in the digital world indeed. This room was impeccably large, even for royal chamber standards, as they were assuming this to be a royal chamber. Great pillars lined the room to total six in all, and three megologrowlmons standing on each other's shoulders might have been able to touch the tops. Even though the vicinity had no windows, or any link to the outside world whatsoever, the wonderful prison was clearly lit. This drew everyone's (save Auroramon) attention to the ceiling. A wonderful array of colors, in every hue visible, even those that humans and some digimon cannot see, were littered across it, and it almost seemed alive, as the colors themselves swam to and fro. It was divided into two equal sections. One half was completely devoted to darker versions of the multihued ceiling, dark blues, blood reds, and onyx blacks swam, almost in a desire to escape and swim free through the air. The other half were completely pastels and light styles of their dark comrades, almost an angelic half to the dark demonic other side, strewn with airy yellow, pale greens and sky blues, with a pure white so light, it might even calm the deadly blacks of the other side. Auroramon sighed. He was just so used to it all. Clearing his throat, he brought everyone's attention back down to digiworld, or more importantly, him. Not that he enjoyed a lot of attention, but he needed their attention in order to talk to them. As soon as all six eyes were on him, he sighed, sat in a chair that had been behind him, inconspicuously the entire time, and began to think. //Where to start? How to start? How am I even sure that these are the right ones? Well, the story doesn't exactly fit into place, but it's damn near close. Hmmm...//  
  
Finally Ryo couldn't stand the suspense any longer. If someone had to talk already, he might as well.  
  
"So. Um. Auroramon was it? Well, I'd like to know, and I'm pretty sure that Cyberdramon and Renamon would like to know as well, why exactly am I here? I mean, I know you're here to help me find Rika and all, but why? You're extremely powerful, especially for a champion, and you just pop out of no where so you can help us out of the goodness of your heart? I mean, I know some digimon are really nice and all, but not that nice. So spit it out. What's the deal?"  
  
"Well, actually, I know how stupid this is going to sound and all, but I believe that you and Rika can save the entire digital world. I think that you two are apart of an ancient legacy, even older than the sovereigns themselves."  
  
All Ryo could do was blink. His mind was in too much shock to race about. He just couldn't comprehend all of this. Renamon simply stared at this almost silvery digimon. Rika? And Ryo? Those two? Of the absurd things in the multiple worlds. But then again. it almost seemed right. The Digimon Champion, and the Digimon Queen. They even made a cute couple. She used to frequently hint it towards Rika that they did, the way they obviously like each other and flirt through their boasting and arguments. But it was also obvious that Rika didn't like being told that, so Renamon stopped. She still gave Rika that look every time it happened though, and unless Rika wanted to draw unwanted attention to herself, she couldn't do anything about it. Cyberdramon just kept that cool look on his face, the one exactly opposite of the one he so commonly had during a fight. His mind was doing a double time, working for both Ryo and himself. Ryo? A chosen child for some mission? How was he involved? Naturally he had to be involved in this legend if his tamer was also. But was he? Auroramon hadn't mentioned either him or Renamon, only Ryo and Rika. Would Auroramon send off Ryo on some crazy suicide mission, and tell Cyberdramon that he wasn't allowed to go? Well, that didn't matter, he'd go anyway. But how exactly was Ryo pertained to this legend? What did he have to do, or a better question, what was he predestined to do? There were so many questions running through his mind, he didn't know where to start asking, but his mouth knew.  
  
"What does he have to do?"  
  
Auroramon sighed, and began to explain.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Umbramon flew through the air, Rika safely in his arms. His leathery wings flapping through the icy air would have made Rika extremely cold, but his fur, which was blacker than the darkest of all shadows, and even though it was cold itself, kept her warmer than she would have been. He occasionally looked down at her. He didn't want to kill her. He regretted putting her through that insufferable torture before, when he reenacted those moments when she had been attacked in the alley way. He was being needlessly cruel towards her. The dark ocean had consumed his heart even more. That was the reason that he was so merciless and heartless before. It was proven from the dark flame that had engulfed him when they first met. Looking at the ground, he flew downwards, and softly landed on the ground. Putting her down, he looked her straight in the eyes and spoke.  
  
"Listen, go inside, alright? There should be clean blankets in the room that I was in. You can sleep on the bed, alright? I'll be inside in a minute."  
  
His voice trailed off, as he looked towards the ground. He felt so ashamed for dragging her into this, but he had too. He couldn't have used any other girl. Turning around, he headed towards the dark ocean. Anything to be away from her, and feel less guilt by not looking into her eyes, or seeing the wounds that he himself was responsible for. Rika watched this anomalous digimon. //First he trys to kill me, then he heals me halfway so there's still painful wounds, then saves my life, and now he's being nice and treated me kindly? Alright, what's wrong with this picture? There is definitely something not right. It's like, he's being controlled, and over time he trys to fight it. Or maybe he has a sense of conscious, an angel and a devil, and they take turns telling him what to do, and sometimes they work for a common cause. Look at this, I've lost so much sleep and blood, that I'm going delusional. I wish Ryo were here. I wish I were at home, snuggled securely into his protective arms, watching an old rerun of digimon, or sitting in a warm park bench, boasting about our last battle and poking fun at each other. Ryo, where are you?// Umbramon was now standing ankle-deep in the frigid waters. He sank to his hands and knees, and stared into the water. //My reflection seems to bring on a sense that my heart reflects this retched place that the gods have no love for. Why must I have been banished here? I find this place insufferable. If I stay here until I'm on the verge of insanity, I fear my heart shall drown in these waves of torment and anguish. Rika will most certainly die, whether it be from me wanting to be free, or from being forced to live with me my entire life. She'll probably try to commit suicide again. Had it not been for that feeble excuse of a digimon to banish me here, I wouldn't have been forced to do this.// He continued to think as he stared into his reflection. The oddly colored eyes must have reflected his benevolent thoughts, because as soon as he stood up again, he was waist deep in the water. Now, he knew for a fact that the ocean would, as long as he had these kind and caring thoughts, tow him deeper and deeper until he drowned. He couldn't just think differently, for it knew how what his heart voiced out as well too. By the time he spun around to helplessly and powerlessly face Rika with horror clearly etched across his face, he was already chest deep in the wintry water. There wouldn't be any use calling out, because his chest's insides were at a point were wasting your breath could prove fatal if you were on the verge of needing to hold it. Rika stared, shocked as Umbramon was dragged by the waves into the deadly ocean. //Oh my god! What should I do?! Should I save him? I could, but he might kill me later. oh. this isn't fair. I should be given more time to decide on these sort of decisions! Ok, think rationally. What would he do it for me?// With that last thought she sprinted towards the water and dove in. She began swimming towards Umbramon, but with a new, more-light infested, pure victim to attack, Umbramon stopped moving backwards (a good thing too, because he was already up to his neck, with his head pointed up), and Rika's energy began draining at an alarming rate. By the time she was halfway to him, she could barely stay afloat. Her energy all but depleted from her, she didn't even attempt to swim back towards the fatal waves above her, crashing down and making her sink deeper and deeper. She let out her breath, not having half a mind to hold it in. The last thing she heard before going under, was a horror-stricken cry from him. Umbramon attempted to cry out "no!" to no one in particular, but it was too late. She went under. He sprung straight upwards, unfurled his wings and flew upward. Going over to hover above the spot where she submerged, he tried to think as fast as possible. //If I go under, it'll attack me as well! Dragging me down as well as her, wouldn't be good for either of us, but what else can I do?// He flew straight upwards, for about a hundred feet, then immediately plunged into a downwards spiral, converging with the water in an overly conspicuous manner. He swam downward, already feeling the ocean's pull at both his vigor and his heart. Descending a few more painstaking yards, and he glimpsed something. A small fire raged in his atypical eyes, as he saw creatures of the deep's lethal nature, beginning to drag down the helpless, hapless young female. A dark fire erupted around him, not only scaring away the in-training level creatures, but also shielding himself from the dark ocean's prowess and aiding his swim to retrieve and deliver the girl to the surface. He reached the surface and flew into the windy heights. His calm demeanor a simple facade. //SHE'S NOT BREATHING!!!! WHAT DO I DO?! WHAT DO I DO! Ok, get a hold of yourself. Calm down. Use your healing skills! See, a cool head invites more answers to problems then a boiling head does. But why should I help her? She has done nothing but shun me the entire time! She despises everything and anything about me. Think about it, she even wanted to die, but your misplaced and brainless kindness stopped her from completing her wishes. No! I mustn't think like that. I must banish this evilly shadowy and icy fire from my heart, before it consumes my voluntary conscience as well. I must save this young girl's life, as I could not see her be another victim of my kin's hatred of me.// He flew towards land, but delayed his landing as he viewed a few Scubamon voraciously and greedily searched his cavern with an obvious bloodlust amidst them. His healing powers had already taken effect on her, he well knew, and he also knew that she was simply exhausted once again, but he couldn't fight against them, or summon another black flame, for her sake, and he was still worried. He, in a separate direction, soared through the skies, searching for a safe place to land. His flight would tire him greatly, for to call any place in the world of the dark and sinister ocean safe, was to not only underestimate it terribly, but to invoke it's dangerous and chaotic, unpredictable power against you.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Renamon stared in disbelief. Cyberdramon was not the least bit shocked that it was irrational. Ryo was in denial. All in all, Auroramon was having a hard time. Patience was never his thing, and this plan would need alot of patience. To save Rika from the dark ocean and from an immeasurable evil, to save Umbramon from both the ocean's calling and his own mounting war against himself, and do all this within a matter of minutes, or else all has failed and all the worlds and realms will diminish. Why did he always have to be the leader?! Why couldn't someone else do this job for him?! Oh, what he would give to have never been summoned to that council so many years ago, where the 12 sovereigns determined that he would the king of digital until he diminished. He would give anything to be playing and working and hanging out and spending the rest of his life with his brother that he was wretched away from as an In-training digimon. It pained him unbearably to know where that very same digimon was at this moment, but have no clue what state he was in, or worse, if he even remembered the friendly relationship he at one time shared with him. The very thought brought salty tears to his oddly-colored irises, making them shine and reflect the beautiful hues of the light sided ceiling in his blue eye, and the dark side shimmering against his lavender eye. Staring at the ceiling, he allowed his thoughts to wander. //This ceiling. this ceiling that under which l reside. It reflects me so well. Half of me wishes to stay here, and comply to my duties and protect and make decisions for the good of the digital world. To make sure that no one suffers needlessly, as my needless decision inflicted upon Shadowmon. But then. the other half of me has the utmost desire to live as all the other digimon in the digital world do. Running free, playing with friends, protecting them and items of value. Go back to playing virus and vaccine with my friends at the primary village, and playing in the river while Elecmon caught fish for supper up the river. I'm torn between two loves, two desires. What shall I choose, when the time to permanently decide comes to present? Which way shall my heart choose? My eyes will lead the way. And my heart.//  
  
A/n - well, another chapter come and gone. This one was pretty heart felt, if I do say so myself, and I'm the one that wrote it! Tell me what you think, I don't care what you say, as long as you give your full and honest opinion. Nice comments will encourage me to write more long chapters, and flames about the horrendous cliff hanger will encourage me to invite you people to my bonfire, especially those who are kind enough to give me the flames. Trust me, this is gonna be bigger than a 100th anniversary block party! Well, yeah, anyways, gotta get to work on invitations, homework, and the next chapter. ^_^! Will Auroramon reveal what connection he secretly has with Umbramon? What startling information did Ryo and the others receive? Can Umbramon fight off the evil in his mind and heart? Will Rika get to see her true love before she dies? How many more times is Rika going to be within death's grasp? How many more stupid questions am I going to ask you people?! Find out in the chapters to come. ^_^ 


	8. Ryo a warrior, and new problems arise

Whoa, I'm finally doing chapter 8... can yah believe it? Well, Anyhoo, Here it is. I'm not going to put in a long authors note. Maybe at the end of the chapter, but not here, and I better stop babbling before it does become too long. Baibai! *pushes the big fucking red button of DOOM!*  
  
*static*  
  
*next chapyter* ( (not a typo)  
  
~Chapter 8~  
  
Rika lay cold and wet in his arms. Umbramon had flown all night long, and had gotten caught in an atramentous storm. It had tired him greatly, especially since he was carrying Rika and he was already starting to get tired. They finally crash landed into a sere tree, and he sank onto a branch.  
  
His wings were folded, crumpled against his back in an uncomfortable manner. He could see his reflection in a black puddle, his furry wolf features mussed up and a small scratch on his cheek. Rika was in perfect condition, not counting the unconcious state.  
  
Looking up he saw a small Demidevimon nest. They wouldn't be a big threat, but they liked to cause havoc, so he uncrumpled one of his wings and wrapped it around Rika protectively. He didn't want to put her in any more pain than he had already caused her. He felt bad enough without actually physically abusing her any more.  
  
After a while he too drifted off into sleep. His sleep was that of dreamlessness. Rika woke not that long afterwards. She stretched and yawned, only to get a face full of leathery skin. She shook her head and pushed the wing off of her... and proceeded to fall out of the tree.  
  
Down on the ground, she stood up and pushed as much mud off of her as possible. She looked around, and finally looked down to her tattered shirt. She blushed, though it was barely visible seeing as the entire dark ocean was covered in a dull shade of gray. She covered up her chest just incase any perverted digimon were lurking about.  
  
She began to wander off, trying to stay close to the tree. Soon she was totally lost. It was a very odd thing. She wished she had something to cover up with. Not only was it cold, but her arms were getting tired from being in that X position over her chest so long. She was a maturing woman, and did have cleavage to cover up.  
  
After about an hour or so, she saw a large cave, carved into the side of the mountain she was apparantely walking on.  
  
"Well, curiousity killed the cat, but since I'm not a cat..."  
  
She slowly and quietly ventured inside. Around her were little baby digimon, Pagumon she knew. These were devilish little creatures she knew... she remembered the one episode of digimon when they kidnapped poor Patamon.  
  
She tiptoed as quietly as possible towards the back of the cave. It was really dark, but she could still see slightly. Suddenly she found something she hadn't expected. Her eyes widened in shock and surprise as she ran over to investigate.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Auroramon was sitting a ways away, staring at Renamon. He felt incredibly bad for her. She was most likely never going to see her partner again. He sighed and looked over to the door leading to the room in which Ryo and Motodramon were in. Motodramon was helping Ryo get ready in both a physical and a mental sense.  
  
Ryo came out finally, and Renamon and Auroramon looked up. Ryo was dressed in a warrior's garb, complete with the scimitar strapped on his belt, a bow strung over his shoulder, and an enchanted quiver holding 20 arrows. He wore black leggings, with ankle bracers and soft yet strongly padded shoes. He had on a silver vest over a skin tight black t-shirt. On one hand he wore a black fingerless glove, and on the other he wore a silver fingerless glove.  
  
By the time Renamon and Auroramon were done taking in the sight, Ryo had already walked down the hallway. He seemed more mature than the last time they had seen him. He had been in that room for an entire year, yet the time outside of the room was merely five minutes. Hypertime, it was called. He had not aged at all, just used lost time from another dimension to train. Cyberdramon and digital simulations taught him how to use his weapons. It was long, strenuous training, but he made it.  
  
"Is it time to go?"  
  
"Yes, it is Ryo."  
  
"Wait. Auroramon, where do I and Cyberdramon come in through all of this? Surely you were going to tell us sooner or later."  
  
"I'm sorry Renamon, I had nearly forgotten. You and Cyberdramon are involved very little, but very importantly. Here, come here so I may explain, quickly though, we are running out of time."  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Rika walked over to the girl. She had bluish silver hair. That was all Rika could make out, other than the fact that she was indeed female. It made Rika put her hands back up over her chest. She would have attempted to wake the girl, for she was sleeping, and the rhythmic rising and falling of her chest proved that, but Rika was too tired and exhausted to do anything, and laid her head against the wall, slumped to the floor, and fell asleep.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Umbramon woke slowly. Opening his eyes, he came face to face with a grinning bowling ball with fur and wings. His eyes widened in shock, and he fell out of the tree with a resounding thud. He groaned and looked up, trying to gather his scattered senses.  
  
The little Demidevimon flew down, and perched on the ground in front of him. Umbramon looked around, and up into the tree, and it didn't take long to come to the conclusion that Rika was missing. Letting loose a feral snarl, he glared at the little rookie digimon in front of him.  
  
"Where is she? What have you done with her?"  
  
"Who are you talking about. She? Do you mean some female digimon that's as much as a fuzz ball as you?"  
  
Another feral snarl escaped his throat as he swiped at this digimon, shattering his data into digital dust. He looked around, the same red glow as before over taking his eyes, the black freezing fire engulfing his body. Looking around, he dropped to all fours. It only took one or two sniffs at the ground to track her scent. He took off, bounding so fast that he could give Garurumon a run for his money in a race.  
  
At the entrance to the cave, he stalked in, growling menacingly. These Pagumon... they were both in his way, and possible perpetrators. They must be destroyed. He howled, then growled the name of his attack.  
  
"OBSIDIAN MOON!"  
  
Some Pagumon had barely opened their eyes in reaction to the disturbance before their data was dissolved and absorbed by Umbramon. He continued walking, this time on his hind legs though. He soon came to Rika, and some mysterious girl. Obviously Rika's kidnapper.  
  
A black shining moon appeared behind Umbramon's ebon flaming form. You could practically see death's eyes waiting in the craters of the moon. Umbramon threw back his fiery canine snout, and howled in protest of this enemy.  
  
Rika opened her eyes slowly and immediately realized the danger. The girl next to her had been awake the entire time, and now she showed that fact by springing into the air, her form taking on a bluish silver glow, grabbing Rika, and sprinting out of there. They had barely left the cave when it exploded in a blast of dark energy. The girl whistled and what appeared to be a silvery blue Garurumon sprinted out of the forest, and scooped them up.  
  
She was bewildered, amazed, afraid of being caught by Umbramon, going with this girl, and leaving Umbramon in the state he was in. It was like he was possessed or something. She had to admit, she was honestly worrying about Umbramon. Just like she honestly worried about Impmon when he went off in the digital world. She had this thing about worrying about slightly evil digimon. She couldn't explain why, she just did.  
  
Rika and the mystery girl on the Garurumon were dashing through the forests, until they finally came to a rest in the forest. Rika's fear doubled over, but when the girl looked at her in the eye, it seemed to all just...melt away...  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
A/n - Oh my god! I updated! It took me three days to write this, because I have a case of the worst disease known to authors and authoresses all over the world: WRITERS BLOCK!!! Dun dun DUN! Well, if you guys bug me some more, and my reviews go up to 110, then I'll write the next chapyter. Until then, ja ne! Namarie! 


	9. Ending

A/n - Ok, people, I've made a decision on the final chapter(s). I've decided to do both, but both endings are going to be separate from the story. *erk* Well, go and read whatever I have up, okieday? Okieday. 


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